Mayor removed 2 authority members after their no votes
Butler Mayor Tom Donaldson is replacing two members of the city parking authority board after they voted not to dissolve the authority.
Kirk Keys and Tom May voted against the motion to authorize the authority's chairman and secretary to sign documents to disband the authority.
“This just doesn't make a lot of sense to me,” Keys said.
Authority Chairman Jim Chiprean and Jerry Johnston voted for the motion, which failed with a 2-2 split. Board member John Mossman was not at the meeting.
The city is asking the authority to dissolve so the city can take over management of the authority's lots and the tier garage. City officials say the move is a requirement of the bond rating that the city received to get a $6.8 million bond issue to pay for its new parking garage on South McKean Street.
Donaldson said he will remove May and Keys from the board and replace them with residents who will vote in favor of it — a decision he said he can make as mayor without council's decision.
“I already have two people in mind who I will appoint,” he said.
Chiprean put the meeting in recess until 5:30 p.m. Monday.
The city plans to replace the authority with a paid part-time parking manager. Council has already said the position likely will be filled by Chiprean, who has been chairman of the authority for 18 years.
May said he wasn't sure how the disbanding was a requirement of the bond rating. But Donaldson read a section of the rating done this year by Standard and Poor's Rating Services of New York that states: “It is our understanding that the authority will be fully dissolved with the completed sale of the bond proceeds.”
The mayor said the city “interprets” that clause to mean it must dissolve the authority.
Both May and Keys said they respected what they city was trying to do, but said they did not feel comfortable supporting the move.
Donaldson remains confident the decision to disband the board will be approved.
